Okay. It may sound like straight out of Bollywood, but it is what it is. This story is about 7 months old. Back in December, when NFT hype was at its peak, I decided to fiddle around a bit. During that period, I also purchased an online course by WhiteBoardCrypto (WBC). The best part of this course was of-course its content. However, an additional perk was the fact that NFTs were given to the initial subscribers each month. Being one of the early adopters, I got an NFT called a WBC Turtle.
Once I got that NFT, I wanted to experience the way these NFTs are sold. So I listed it on opensea. And nothing happened for good one month. Until one fine day, on my birthday incidentally, someone purchased that NFT. I made a good INR 30,000 on that deal. Entire money paid for my annual subscription recouped at once. Sweet.
But with that being said, my experience (the main motive behind listing that NFT) was sub par at best. And here are a few reasons why:
A. Sold in My Sleep:
Okay. This might be just me, but I always thought that I’d list NFT at a price and when someone matches it, I would be notified. And then I would sort of ‘approve’ it or something before the transaction is completed. However, that’s not true. As soon as someone matches your listed price, the NFT is transferred immediately.
I wish there was a better way of keeping me in loop.
B. The Intimation:
Also, I had no way to know this. I simply woke up on my birthday eve, went about doing my business until I decided to check my Gmail. And there it was. Hidden in the ‘Updates’ tab of Gmail. Congratulating me for selling my NFT.
Now, this is not the way you communicate in web3. The mail had a very high propensity of getting lost and I would have never realized my funds. (I had not added wETH to my Metamask wallet).
Isn’t it strange?
C. Wen Decentralization and Privacy?
NFTs are centred around the idea of decentralized ownership. But my email ID? Seriously? That’s the most web2 thing you could ever do. The entire web2 realm is built around ‘sign in with Facebook/Google’ Which in turn ensures that you remain active on these platforms even if you hate them to the core. And asking for similar modes of login here means you have failed as a web3 centred organisation.
But then I realized, if they did not have access to my Email ID, there was literally no way to inform me that I have sold my NFTs. In that case, it could have been further delayed by days, weeks or even months (I am not an active NFT trader).
How EPNS Can Solve this Problem?:
A quick overview of EPNS for someone who is hearing it for the first time.
EPNS is a decentralized communication protocol for Web3! Using which any dApps, smart contracts, backends or protocols can send comm (starting with on chain / off chain / gasless notifs) tied to user wallet in an open, gasless, multichain and platform agnostic fashion. Open comm layer allows any crypto wallet / frontend to tap into the network and get the comm across.
Now that’s how you figure out and solve a problem right? Now imagine the likes of OpenSea deploying something like EPNS to notify me of such events without being intrusive. That’s web3 for you folks. There are some other ways they could leverage EPNS. For example:
A. Notifying for Offers/Auctions:
More often than not, you might not get the desired price for your NFT. In that case, the buyer shares a negotiated quote instead. Once again, that quote is delivered to you via email. Wouldn’t it be better if there was a push notification? A quicker reply would have meant higher chances of closing the sale.
B. Following Favourite Artists:
When this frenzy was at its peak, we saw projects getting sold out within minutes. So, ideally, there should be a mechanism to inform me whenever my favourite artist uploads a collection for sale.
C. Engagement with Fans:
If we are really building a community of artists and enthusiasts, their relationship should be much more than a transaction. Currently, NFT platforms rely on social media handles to validate an artist and that’s the only way these artists get to connect with the fans.
Once again, my privacy is on the line. What if I want to decouple my Social Media presence from my art? Therefore, some engagement based on notifications would come in really handy in such a case.
$Push it Baby!
As more dApps realize the importance of the missing communication layer, it will eventually become a mainstream protocol.
What other use cases can you think of EPNS in the NFT space??
Got questions? Want to take it to the next level? Reach out to me using your preferred platform from the links below
Until next time..
For our beloved “non readers”, I also do quick carousels on these topics over Instagram. Come join the fun. Hit me up here.
This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla
20 responses to “How I sold my First NFT: Why do we need EPNS?”
For a totally ignorant person, I think I should not invest. Right? Can i ask someone else to do it for me or just keep away as i do not understand how crypto works?
For NFTs definitely a no mam. For crypto, depends on your risk appetite. It’s the most risky asset class out there.
Trust me, i really want to get into NFT jitni dont know and understand it clearly. I would appreciate if you would share more details on it.
You explain well so, it will be helpful.
Would love to help you out. Please feel free to share your questions over DMs on Twitter or IG (@pandatechie.crypto)!
This is so scary ya, no intimation and wen u track ur emails thats wen u know.
I have no knowledge at all when it comes to NFT so would definitely not know how and when to invest even more of I do invest as you pointed out it is sold without any intimation that would make me more panicked.
Raghu, this is one blog of yours that I totally understood and I could comprehend most of it… yayyyyy! And the topic was interesting too but since I am a thorough novice, I will share this with my hubby.
This is such interesting terrain to me- I always wanted to know how NFTs work and how to go about it so thanks
With details knowledge one must know how to do it. But when there is no notification 😯 person like me take more time to check emails, 😫 it is really risky yaar.
I totally agree about the notification in emails. Those are sure to get lost and you might not see them in days. I didn’t understand about the artist bit.
I am not a big fan of push notifications but they are the better of the two evils. I agree with you about more control over the sale.
The one thing that got my attention is the money in your account and the entire course paid off in one go. I think it’s worth all the risks. We’ve only started taking baby steps in this. So as always, sharing your knowledge with my other half.
Your explanation is always on point, simplified for people to understand!
Oh, I am sending this to my husband right now. Just last week we were discussing about my paintings and then NFT topic started. To be honest, I chuckled a bit reading that you sold it in your sleep, what a brilliant way to earn money 🙂 (Pun intended)
Your posts are quite informative about all the new tech – crypto, nft and what not! I’m becoming note educated though I don’t know whether I will be able to use crypto or nft s ever.. knowledge is power 💪
Very informative post and am learning bit by bit. But am really afraid to invest…as I have zero knowledge.
Okie I’d say this was interesting topic and one that made me hooked maybe it was the simplicity
Your post always have something very informative.. wonderful
NFTs was I dabbled in a long time back but not anymore.
Firstly, congratulations on selling your first NFT! Secondly, thanks for pointing out these huge loopholes – I would never have known about them.